W. Eddie

The artist who would become world-renowned as W. Eddie was born in 1955 in Hong Kong. His passion for art, evident at the young age of eight, led to admission to the prestigious Hong Kong Art Academy. Unlike most students, however, by the time Eddie graduated, he had exhibited in several competitions and his work was already popular in Hong Kong.The young successful painter brought his family to America in 1982, where he studied at the Art Students League of New York. A year later, he won the New York Public Painting Competition, becoming the first-ever non-American to even place in the top three.The front page of the Chinese World Journal that same day shared this breakthrough with his home country. In 1984, Eddie was invited to join the Alliance of Queens Artists, having won first and two-second prizes in each of the three preceding years. His other prizes included 1st prize of the Western Chamber of Commerce three years running, and Best of Show from the National Art League. His work was exhibited throughout the northeast, and his own exhibition at the St. John’s University capped his formal studies and launched his professional career.Eddie is inspired by his extensive travels throughout Europe. He spent several years in living in France and Switzerland where he studied European Impressionism. His landscapes, however, exist only on canvas, and their extraordinary nuances of color, dynamic depths of field, and beautifully balanced compositions are completely his own.An impressionist of the first order, Eddie acknowledges the influence of Monet in his command of light, water, and air, while his brushwork and splashes of color-especially his signature reds-are reminiscent of Renoir. His very collectable pieces marry gentle movement with a calm tranquility, and his style has become familiar to art lovers the world over.